VAN: In Tempest's Wake by Dayton Ward Review Thread (Spoilers!)

[timothy]

The barnes and noble nook tablet is on sale right for $179.99

[JoeZhang]

Dimesdan wrote:

---

Did you get them from Amazon or The Book Depository? I tend to pay around a fiver from the latter, plus they have free postage.

I guess though, if you say brought the hard-copy versions from Waterstones, WHSmith (if they stocked them) or an Independent bookshop, you'll no doubt pay full price which then makes In Tempests Wake a bargain! But who actually buys books from bricks and mortar shops anymore?

Those prices are all ebook prices.

[Defcon]

JoeZhang wrote:

---

I guess he just went off the price and thought it was a full novel.

But in the "review" she/he specifically demands that "The publisher must tell people who buy the books when it is a short story". The information that it only has the equivalent of 99 pages was there all along, so I don't really now what else she/he expects. A pop-up when she/he pre-orders that says: "Hey dumbass, this story is a novella, are you really sure you want to preorder it for that price?"

[Dimesdan]

JoeZhang wrote:

---

Those prices are all ebook prices.

Ah ok, well in that case, it is taking the piss.

[Judith Sisko]

ATimson wrote:

---

"In Tempest's Wake" wasn't bad (coming from Dayton, I'd have been surprised if it was!). As a coda to Vanguard, it works. There's some nice character bits with Kirk and Nogura.

But the novella is more an assortment of continuity spackle, rather than a standalone story. I probably would've been more satisfied if this had been part of a greater whole, like another Declassified volume. Alas, it wasn't.

Some of the flashbacks were honest bits of fleshing out, like the "Tholian Web" flashback. But did Paths of Disharmony really need the retroactive setup here?

For the curious among you, the book is roughly 30,000 words long.

I agree.

I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Maybe it was because I had just re-read Storming Heaven in anticipation of reading this and all the recaps became tedious to me. Plus, there was no tension or anticipation because I already knew the outcome.

I enjoyed reading the Enterprise flashbacks more than Nogura's and Kirk's reminiscing. I agree the flashbacks would have been a great story for something like Declassified.

And I agree with the thoughts and question in ATimson's spoiler. (I must be in an agreeable mood today.)

[RonG]

Not to take anything away from Dayton, as he's a favorite, but the very existence of ITW as a post-finale VAN story still irks me.

I know this sounds a bit naive, but the story has been told to completion - why must TPTB (Marketing) exploit it and the VAN readership? Wasn't this supposed to be TOS originally?

[ATimson]

RonG wrote:

---

I know this sounds a bit naive, but the story has been told to completion - why must TPTB (Marketing) exploit it and the VAN readership? Wasn't this supposed to be TOS originally?

Yes, it was. There's an argument for both labels, really.

Yes, it's focused on Kirk and Nogura, flashing back to Kirk and the Enterprise. But at the same time, it is about Vanguard, giving context for how some of their actions tied into events seen in the rest of the series.

I think that a Vanguard fan expecting something focused on those characters will be disappointed, and a TOS fan expecting an action-adventure story will be disappointed.

Disappointment for all!

[Judith Sisko]

ATimson wrote:

---

Yes, it was. There's an argument for both labels, really.

Yes, it's focused on Kirk and Nogura, flashing back to Kirk and the Enterprise. But at the same time, it is about Vanguard, giving context for how some of their actions tied into events seen in the rest of the series.

I think that a Vanguard fan expecting something focused on those characters will be disappointed, and a TOS fan expecting an action-adventure story will be disappointed.

Disappointment for all!

Exactly!

[beamMe]

Judith Sisko wrote:

---

Exactly!

Oh, come on. The scenes between Kirk and Nogura alone are worth the read.

[RonG]

The comments by ATimson and Judith Sisko make me wonder what was the point of this story. Was it really to make *one* more "trip to the well" , as it were?

I'd much rather read another "full" Dayton Ward novel (with or without Kevin Dilmore), and leave a concluded story, well... concluded.

[Sho]

Dunno, I think another way to look at it is that the events in the Vanguard finale are of such in-universe historic importance that yes, looking at them from another angle may strike one as redundant, but on the other hand it's exactly the kind of thing that you want multiple angles of in the big picture. Just like important real world historic events are best understood via an intersection of multiple voices ... or if you don't want to go that deep, well, it's pretty optional. I just feel that it underscores the importance of the saga to give that option.

[RonG]

that's a valid point, of course, but IMHO the very existence of this e-book just underscores the involvement of Marketing in the creative process.

I've seen the VAN series called "lightning in a bottle" for many reasons, among them the fact that it had a defined beginning, middle and end - Mack, Ward, Dilmore and Palmieri developed the series, told their story/ies to the fullest and left on the highest note possible.

I don't recall any real dangling threads left by the finale, and having a look "from another angle" at events we've seen told / explored already plus labeling as part of the already-completed series, seems to me like a disservice to readers.

As I already posted, I would much rather have a new TOS novel by Ward, which would incorporate the events of ITW..

[beamMe]

RonG wrote:

---

that's a valid point, of course, but IMHO the very existence of this e-book just underscores the involvement of Marketing in the creative process.

I've seen the VAN series called "lightning in a bottle" for many reasons, among them the fact that it had a defined beginning, middle and end - Mack, Ward, Dilmore and Palmieri developed the series, told their story/ies to the fullest and left on the highest note possible.

I don't recall any real dangling threads left by the finale, and having a look "from another angle" at events we've seen told / explored already plus labeling as part of the already-completed series, seems to me like a disservice to readers.

As I already posted, I would much rather have a new TOS novel by Ward, which would incorporate the events of ITW..

A "disservice"?

Granted, In Tempest's Wake doesn't add much to the Vanguard story, but it certainly doesn't take anything away from it.
That it is very well written and integrates Vanguard even more into the old continuity and actually opens up the story for a future re-visitation makes it everything but a "disservice".

[RonG]

beamMe wrote:

---

A "disservice"?

Granted, In Tempest's Wake doesn't add much to the Vanguard story, but it certainly doesn't take anything away from it.
That it is very well written and integrates Vanguard even more into the old continuity and actually opens up the story for a future re-visitation makes it everything but a "disservice".

Perhaps "disservice" is too strong a word. I'm not taking anything away from the story or from Ward, and would probably feel different about it if it would have been labeled as TOS as planned originally.

However, having a VAN story flat out starring Kirk is not how I would have liked the series "last entry" to be. To me, VAN ended the way it should have with Storming Heaven.

[beamMe]

RonG wrote:

---

Perhaps "disservice" is too strong a word. I'm not taking anything away from the story or from Ward, and would probably feel different about it if it would have been labeled as TOS as planned originally.

However, having a VAN story flat out starring Kirk is not how I would have liked the series "last entry" to be. To me, VAN ended the way it should have with Storming Heaven.

The ending still stands. Most of In Tempest's Wake's framing story plays before the framing story of What Judgments Come and Storming Heaven. And the last chapter features one of Vanguards main characters with Kirk "only" tagging along because he's needed.